Thursday, May 31, 2018

West Virginia: Mountain bike group building new trails at Cacapon

A group of Winchester mountain bikers have added several miles of trails at Cacapon State Park for cyclists and hikers, and plan to create several loops through the park forests in the future.

The Winchester Wheelmen have coordinated their work with park officials, reopening old trails and creating new ones from the top of Cacapon Mountain down to the Nature Center. The all-volunteer effort has already racked up several hundred hours of planning, trail marking and clearing. New trails are cleared by hand, using rakes and heavy-duty hoes, chainsaws and hand saws.

Mark Hoyle, who is spearheading the effort by the mountain bikers, said his group has come to Cacapon since the late winter to work on trails. He estimates 20 volunteers have put in hours to clear the narrow trails along paths best suited for mountain bikes.

On Cacapon State Park’s trail work day last month, seven mountain bikers cut trees and raked trails above the Nature Center, and worked on a new route for a very wet section of the Central Trail above the park’s reservoir lake.

Hoyle said his group is using established guidelines for designing trails, but also paying close attention to the natural terrain of Cacapon State Park as they build...